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Overnight work trip

DD2 is 4 months old and next week I have to take an overnight trip and will be gone two full days and one night.

I'm not concerned about me pumping or having enough milk (we've got tons).

I'm concerned about dad's sanity! Getting a 4 month old and 3 year old to two daycares in the morning and getting them both fed and to bed at night, plus figuring out if DD2 will take a bottle in the middle of the night. She still eats at least 1 time at night.

Any advice out there for the dad when mom has to go on a trip?

Trying to keep up with a busy 3.5 year old Morgan Alexis born 11/5/09 at 6 lbs 5 oz and proud retired 1 year EP'er!

Re: Overnight work trip

DD2 is 4 months old and next week I have to take an overnight trip and will be gone two full days and one night.

I'm not concerned about me pumping or having enough milk (we've got tons).

I'm concerned about dad's sanity! Getting a 4 month old and 3 year old to two daycares in the morning and getting them both fed and to bed at night, plus figuring out if DD2 will take a bottle in the middle of the night. She still eats at least 1 time at night.

Any advice out there for the dad when mom has to go on a trip?

OMG! I literally just got on here to post the SAME thing! I am leaving tomorrow for 3 days/2 nights for work and its my first time away from DS (7mo old)

I have plenty of milk, but I am also worried about DH playing Mr.Mom for 3 days! Especially with DS being EBF and still waking 2-3 times at night. I'm worried about him not treating the thawed BM properly or over feeding or not enough etc...!
bfwmomof3 is probably right--we need to just let them figure it out!

To top it of there is supposed to be a snow storm on the day I'm returning home and I'm dreading being delayed or stuck in Ohio! Reaching out to all you ladies to send good vibes my way to get thru this!

Re: Overnight work trip

They survived!

DD2 did not want to take a bottle from Dad. She was up every 1/2 hour through the night, just waiting for me to come home. DH said he got 1 hour and 1.5 hours of longer sleep periods. She did finally suck down a 3 ounce bottle at 2:00am, but wouldn't take anything before bed or when she woke up for the day.

Trying to keep up with a busy 3.5 year old Morgan Alexis born 11/5/09 at 6 lbs 5 oz and proud retired 1 year EP'er!

Re: Overnight work trip

I'm struggling with the same thing. I need to go on a work trip 2days & 1 night. I only have a small stash of frozen milk, my LO is 9 mos and is a reverse cycler so I'm worried he'll keep waiting for me to get home and won't eat much for 2 days. I'm also worried he'll like the bottle more than nursing when I get back, then I'll have to fight that battle. I need to send my reservation for the conference ASAP. I'm considering cancelling, but I really need to go. Any advice?

Re: Overnight work trip

I recommend bringing a case and ice packs in addition to your pump. When I traveled for work I asked the hotel for a mini fridge. They brought one with a little freezer which was great. While working on the trip I pumped and had access to a fridge during the day, so I kept milk in the case with ice packs in the fridge. On the return home I put the bags frozen milk, sealed securely, in the case with 2 small ice packs. I put the whole thing in a larger zip plastic bag and put it in my checked bag. Everything was frozen when I got home and it travelled a long way: from Calgary Ontario through Dallas to Nashville.

I've posted this before in response to others asking advice so I want to mention while I was able to bring my husband and daughter, then 6 months, they were on their own for 2 days from morning to evening so I had to pump for those days. On the last work day I didn't need what I pumped for our final day because it was a travel day, and I wanted to see if I could successfully bring the extra milk home.

Re: Overnight work trip

My trip was a 4 hour drive so I brought a cooler with an ice block in it and used the mini-fridge in the room. I brought a 32 ounce Nalgen bottle to combine all the milk for the 2 days and not take up room in the cooler with multiple bottles. I pumped in the car while at the site and in the hotel room. I have oversupply so having enough milk to use while I was gone wasn't a problem. DD2 certainly didn't get as much milk that night or morning but she was fine....DH was just really tired. She drank the same amount at daycare but wouldn't take the bottle for DH in the house (babies are smart ones, they know mommy should be there!) She usually breastfeeds at 7pm and 9pm and again at 2am and 6am. Of those 4 feedings she took a total of 4.5 ounces. Needless to say she was really happy when I came home, almost as happy as DH!

Trying to keep up with a busy 3.5 year old Morgan Alexis born 11/5/09 at 6 lbs 5 oz and proud retired 1 year EP'er!

Re: Overnight work trip

Originally Posted by @llli*vtmtbkr

She drank the same amount at daycare but wouldn't take the bottle for DH in the house (babies are smart ones, they know mommy should be there!)

That is so interesting!

mamat - I really don't think you have to worry about baby refusing the breast when you come back. I've worried about that too before taking trips and always found that my babies nursed enthusiastically upon my return. As vtmtbkr points out too. I mean - he's already a reverse cycler, which means he clearly prefers mama to the bottle! That preference isn't going to disappear just because you go away for a couple days. And like vtmtbkr says - maybe he'll eat a little less for a couple days; and then he'll make up for it when you come back. I think you'll be okay.